


The Way That It Goes [What Nobody Knows]

by sinandmisery



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5 Times, Accidental Relationship, F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, also liho loves maria, and it's kind of adorable, and maria has the patience of a saint, basically natasha is completely clueless about dating, even though she is usually a devil spawn to basically anyone other than natasha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 10:31:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12209445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinandmisery/pseuds/sinandmisery
Summary: They're totally *not* going on dates on a regular basis. Natasha would know if they were. Right?orFive Times Natasha Thinks They Aren't Going On Dates and One Time She Finds Out They Actually Are





	1. The Time They Have Their First Totally Not Date

**Author's Note:**

> So I haven't written in forever because of terrible writers' block and basically just fell head first into the Maria/Natasha pit, so here's what came out of it. Big props to [duckayeh](http://duckayeh.tumblr.com) for making sure I didn't butcher the English language and also for cheerleading me.
> 
> Also there's a companion piece to this that will be posted soon as its own fic. I had originally intended for it to be a part of this, but I also didn't anticipate this fic being the monster it became, so I decided to separate it.
> 
> Set in some vague time between Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron.
> 
> (title from New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle")

Since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., ops that go _exactly_ to plan have been a rare - _very_ rare - occurrence. Ops not only going to plan but ending hours ahead of schedule? _Never_. The universe, however, seems to be on her side for once, because traffic willing, they're set to be back at the Tower a whole _two hours_ early, which means that not only is Natasha going to avoid cancelling or delaying her plans, but she will actually have time to properly get ready beforehand.

Steve is driving and Clint's in the front seat, singing along with some ridiculous pop song and drumming his fingers to the beat on the dashboard. He's deemed himself Steve's official music guide, so every time the song changes, he gives him a brief rundown on the artist or the song itself. Natasha tries to drown them out as she focuses on entering her notes on her tablet, but from time to time, she catches Steve bopping his head along to the music and it distracts her from the task at hand. It's kind of adorable, watching Steve nod along to a Destiny's Child song, but she makes a mental note to buy an iPod for Steve and fill it with more than the Top 40 stuff Clint's been introducing him to.

By the time Steve pulls into the underground parking at the Tower, she's wrapped up her report and uploaded it to Stark's secure server, so she gives a quick nod to both Steve and Clint and makes a beeline for the elevators. She's almost made it there when Clint catches up with her.

"Hey, Tasha," he says, slowing from his light jog. "I'm about to head home for the weekend. You wanna come with? Cooper's dying to show you his new 'secret hideout'."

Natasha smiles and presses the button to call the elevator, leaning against the wall to look at Clint. "Did he finally convince you to build the treehouse?"

"Well, Laura was concerned he'd end up trying to pull some stunt and break his leg or something, so we built one in the woods, but it's on level ground. He wasn't happy with the compromise at first, but now we can barely drag him out of there."

Natasha laughs, picturing Cooper trying to pull off some acrobatic trick from the top of a treehouse and scaring the daylights out of Laura.

"I could see that happening." She nods. "He has about as much sense as you when it comes to life-threatening situations."

"Hey!"

"You know I'm right," she says, and then the elevator dings, announcing its arrival. She steps into the car and Clint follows behind as she scans her thumbprint to unlock access to her floor.

"So whatdya say? I know Laura would love to see you, too."

"I'd love to go." Natasha smiles, because the idea of getting away from the city for a while sounds absolutely perfect. "But I've already got plans."

"Oh?" Clint asks, wiggling his eyebrows in the most unflattering way possible. "Hot date?"

"Perv." She fights the urge to roll her eyes and punches his arm playfully, then fills in the gaps in his thinking. "I'm meeting up with Hill tonight for drinks."

"That wasn't a no." He smirks and Natasha elbows him in the ribs hard enough to knock it right off. "Come on, Tasha, you _know_ she's your type."

"I'm not having this conversation with you," she says, and this time she does roll her eyes. Because honestly? He's right. Maria is a hundred percent her type, and she'd be lying if she said that - when Maria had smiled at her in the hall and said 'Have drinks with me next Friday' - she hadn't wished it was for more than friendly reasons.

"Still not a no," he says, his sing-songy tone grating on Natasha's nerves.

Natasha huffs and fixes him with a glare. Sometimes she swears he takes that younger brother role a little too seriously. "If I answer you, will you drop it?"

"Scouts' honor." He holds up his fingers in a solemn vow, but his eyes twinkle with childlike glee that says he is definitely not going to let it go.

"You were never a Boy Scout, Barton."

The elevator comes to a stop and Natasha smiles. _Saved by the proverbial bell._

"Hawk's honor?"

"It's not a date," she says with her trademark smirk before walking away to get ready for her _totally not a date but I also wouldn't mind if it was_.

\---

Clint's teasing inadvertently (or maybe not so inadvertently) induces a certain level of anxiety about the night, which leads to an epic internal debate on what to wear. She ends up digging through the back of her closet and debating on the difference between _too casual_ and _too dressy_.

(It's just a bar. It's just drinks. Drinks with Maria, who she's had drinks with a dozen times. They've shared beds on missions, sparred countless times, and patched each other up in the field. This is nothing, except for the fact that Clint has now made it something.)

After several changes, she settles on somewhere in between - an off the shoulder striped sweater and jeans with her favorite ankle boots and leather jacket - and makes her way to the bar.

Despite all the extra time she had taken to get ready, Natasha makes it to the bar 15 minutes ahead of the time they had agreed upon and she manages to find two seats at the bar, positioned perfectly so she can watch the door for Maria's arrival. She takes her place at one of the stools and throws her jacket over the back of the other to claim it.

The place is busy, but relatively quiet, especially for a Friday night, and she orders a vodka tonic while she waits. It's a half assed attempt to ease some of the jittery, nervous energy that's been building over the last few hours, but after a few sips, she feels more focused, even if it's just a little bit of a placebo effect. It only takes a few minutes before the bartender is back over, informing her that a man across the bar asked to buy her a drink. She politely declines with a gesture to the reserved seat next to her, hoping he'll take the hint.

She's halfway through her drink when Maria arrives. She spots her immediately when she walks in and throws up a hand just enough to grab her attention, earning a dazzling smile before she makes her way through the crowd.

"This seat taken?" Maria asks playfully as she reaches Natasha. She's wearing her own leather jacket over a casual blue dress and the color makes her already bright eyes practically glow, even in the dim light of the bar. It distracts Natasha for a moment, enough that it takes Maria arching an eyebrow to realize she hasn't actually responded.

"Now it is," she says, fixing Maria with a smile as she reaches over to move her jacket from the chair.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Maria says as she slides onto the stool.

"You're technically still -" she pauses, checking the time on her phone "- three and a half minutes early. I haven't been here long; only had to fend off one unwanted advance."

Natasha gives a surreptitious nod toward her would be suitor to point him out to Maria.

Maria eyes him and then looks back at Natasha. "Well I'm here to save you from any other advances. Sorry I missed the first one, though. You know how the office can be."

"I do, actually," Natasha says. She briefly turns her focus from Maria to the bartender, catching his attention so Maria can order a drink. "That one specifically."

"That's right. _Natalie_." Maria's voice drops to an unfamiliar tone as she breathes out the name. There's a hint of teasing, but something decidedly different Natasha can't put her finger on and she manages to hide the shudder that rolls down her spine as the words hit her in an unexpected way. She downs the rest of her drink as Maria orders a round for them both.

"Natalie Rushman, former legal assistant at Stark Industries," Natasha says by way of introduction. The cover is one of her favorites and she drops into it with ease. It's the perfect fit for her current mindset – Natalie's more forward than Natasha, and the flirtatious edge to her voice can easily played off by the cover. It allows her to play with fire without the risk of getting burned.

Maria chuckles lightly. "Maria Hill, current Director of External Relations at Stark Industries," she says, clearly game to play along. "And what are you up to now that you've left the company, Miss Rushman?"

"Now?" Natasha-as-Natalie asks, running the tip of her finger along the rim of the drink that's just been set in front of her. "Right now, I'm spending some time in New York, having a drink with a beautiful woman in a quiet bar in Manhattan."

She raises her glass, eyes focused intently on Maria as she takes a slow drink, tongue hooking around the straw to draw it into her mouth. When she places the drink back on the bar, she lets her fingertips graze the back of Maria's hand. It's bold; overt in a way Natasha would never be but Natalie always is.

Maria's eyebrow arches almost imperceptibly as she watches Natasha, not breaking eye contact even as she takes a drink from her glass. Natasha can tell her mind is working to pull apart her words and actions - to analyze what's the cover and what's not and respond appropriately - and it makes her smile.

"And when you're not busy with that?"

"Travelling, mostly," Natasha says, tying her cover in with some of what she's been doing with the Avengers. "Spent some time travelling across Europe, some more time in Japan. That severance package from Stark was pretty sweet."

That part wasn't a lie, actually. Even after it was revealed she was just an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Pepper had made sure she received a nice severance bonus. Natasha was certain that had something to do with dealing with Tony as well as keeping an eye on him.

"Was it now? Maybe I'll have to work on getting him to fire me."

Natasha - not Natalie - laughs at this. "As if Pepper would ever let you go at this point. Stark too, for that matter."

"Touché," Maria says with a smile, and then raises her glass in toast. They clink their glasses together and drink, eyes never leaving one another.

Natasha tries to imagine a world without Maria Hill at least tangentially involved in their line of work and it's near impossible. Even if she doesn't directly work with them any more in their official/unofficial Avengers capacity, she knows for a fact that at least part of Maria's work with Stark Industries trickles down to the way they're viewed. Any situation where Maria isn't in that chain isn't one Natasha wants to be in.

They settle into a quiet conversation about everything and nothing, and nearly two hours pass by without notice. At a natural lull in the conversation, Natasha notices the bar is louder, more packed, than it was when they first arrived, and it throws Natasha for a loop to be so completely unaware of her surroundings. As she finishes her drink, she takes stock of the other signs she should have been more aware of - her throat is scratchy from gradually having to speak louder, it's warmer from the increase in bodies, and her knee is brushing Maria's from subconsciously shifting toward each other over the course of the evening - and it makes her feel suddenly claustrophobic, overwhelmed with the need for fresh air.

She hooks her foot around the leg of Maria's barstool and pulls herself even closer, her hand falling against Maria's thigh for a little bit of balance as she leans in.

"You wanna get out of here? Grab a bite to eat?" Natasha asks, whispering against her ear to keep from having to raise her voice.

There's the slightest hitch in Maria's even breathing - so small that Natasha thinks she may have imagined it - as Natasha speaks, and when she pulls back, she notices Maria's eyes are darker than she ever remembers them being.

Maria's fingers brush against Natasha's hand that's still resting just above her knee as she nods in agreement.

"Sounds great."

It takes a few minutes for Natasha to wave the bartender down to close out their tab, but after that's settled, Maria slips her hand in Natasha's and leads them out of the bar and on the hunt for food.


	2. The Time Natasha Walks Her Home

To put it mildly: It's been _a week_. Two separate ops in the span of five days have gone to shit, everyone is tense, and at the moment, Natasha's more black and blue than not. She's lost count of the stitches she's given herself between the two ops - 44 is the last she remembers - and literally _everything_ hurts. She's used to injuries in the field, but this feels like New York all over again. She knows it won't be long before the injuries heal over, but all she wants to do is soak in a long epsom salt bath, drink _a lot_ of alcohol, and crash on her couch.

The only thing stopping her is the fact that she has plans with Maria, plans made before this week turned into one from hell. After she showers and changes into the most comfortable outfit that's still passable for public wear, she downs some ibuprofen, sucks it up, and heads up to Maria's office. It's an hour before they are supposed to meet, but it is common knowledge that Maria has the comfiest couch in the Tower and her meeting with Pepper is going to last at least another 30 minutes, so Natasha intends to take full advantage of both those facts.

When the elevator doors open on her floor, Clint is already inside.

"Hey. I'm headed out for a bite. Wanna join?"

Natasha shakes her head. "Plans with Hill," she says, stopping herself from tacking on the _and then a date with my bed_ when she remembers who she's talking to.

"Again?"

Natasha shrugs. "We had fun. It's nice to get away from you assholes sometimes."

"You wound me," he says, clutching his chest dramatically. "I guess the first date went well, then."

Natasha rolls her eyes and shoves him into the elevator wall playfully. "It wasn't a date," she says, because even if it had sort of felt like one, there had been no kiss at the end of the night, no _we should do this again_ discussion, or any other date-like behavior other than a little friendly flirting.

The elevator doors open on the floor with Maria's office and Natasha steps off before she gets roped further into Clint's relentless teasing.

"Love you, too, Tasha," Clint calls after her. "Have fun on your date!"

Without a glance behind her, she gives him the finger and keeps walking. 'I really need to start taking the stairs,' she thinks.

\---

Natasha's not technically asleep when Maria comes back to her office, but she's definitely not _not_ asleep, either. She hears Maria in the hall before she enters but doesn't quite open her eyes. Not yet.

"Hey you," Maria says, quiet surprise lacing her voice when she steps in to see Natasha there. At the sound of her voice, Natasha finally opens her eyes.

"Hey yourself," she says, stretching and sitting up. Her shoulders pop and she groans at the sore muscles they stretch. "You look exhausted."

"Thanks for the compliment." Maria chuckles and takes a seat next to Natasha to look over her visible injuries. "You don't look so hot yourself."

"Been worse," Natasha says. She shrugs and lets Maria tilt her chin to get a better view of the cut across her left cheekbone.

"How'd that one happen?" she asks, and Natasha suppresses the shudder at the contact of her gentle fingers running just underneath the fresh set of stitches. It hurts, but the pain is counteracted by the feeling of Maria's skin against her own.

"That op with May and Morse. Ended up having to go through a window. "

Maria shakes her head, rueful smile playing at her lips. "You never do things the easy way, do you?"

"Trust me," Natasha says, rolling her head side to side to work out the knots in her neck. "That _was_ the easy way."

"We can always reschedule if you want to rest."

Natasha shakes her head.

"After the week I had, a night out with you is exactly what I need," she says, bumping her knee into Maria's. They share a brief smile, and then Natasha continues. "Well, that, enough vodka to fill a swimming pool, and a long, hot bath."

Maria laughs, but her eyes briefly darken with a hint of something that Natasha doesn't even have time to analyze before Maria's standing and making her way to her desk.

"Give me 15 to wrap up this report then we can go?"

"Sounds good," Natasha says, and then leans her head back against the couch to catch a few more minutes of rest.

\---

"You ready?" Maria asks, her soft voice waking Natasha from her nap.

Natasha cracks one eye open to look at Maria, who is perched on the arm of the couch. She's changed at some point since Natasha dozed off, her perfectly tailored suit and heels being traded in for worn jeans, an equally worn red button down layered over a plain black shirt, and a pair of dirty Converse. Natasha studies her for a moment - the relaxed sag of her shoulders, the unclenched jaw, the typically neat, low bun piled into a messier updo - and smiles.

"You look comfy," she says as she stands up.

"Well, you said this place was 'super laid back,' so I listened." Maria shrugs and steps away to grab her jacket from the corner of the desk.

"I like it." Natasha says, smiling as she watches Maria. "Comfy looks good on you."

\---

The short walk to the pub is filled with talk of their weeks. Natasha gives a quick overview of the two disaster missions that put her in her current state, and Maria fills Natasha in on her own week. She's spent her days chasing down diplomats and politicians to get support for some of Stark's newest tech at SI, and at night she's been helping Coulson on Project Theta, which she promises to fill Natasha in on when they're not in public.

When they reach their destination, Natasha holds the door open and follows Maria in. It's packed, but Natasha spots an empty booth for two in the back and they make their way to it.

"This is one of the first places Clint took me when I could leave the compound," Natasha says by way of explanation, sliding one of the menus over to Maria. "He said they were the best burgers in the city, and I'm kind of inclined to agree. Plus they give you enough fries to feed a small army."

"Noted," Maria says, scanning the menu. Natasha doesn't even have to look anymore - she gets the same thing every time.

A waitress stops by and takes their drink orders, and while they wait for their beers to come back, Maria says, "You know I'm paying this time, right?"

"I'll make you a deal," Natasha says, shifting to pull her phone from her back pocket. She places it face up on the table between them. "We're now officially in a work free zone. First person to bring up work or use their phone pays."

Maria laughs, but she slides her phone from her pocket as well and places it over Natasha's phone. "Deal."

The waitress comes back with their beers, and Maria starts to take a drink but pauses, narrowing her eyes at Natasha. "You know you can't just purposely bring up work so you can pay again."

Natasha takes a long swig of her beer and chuckles. "I would never."

Maria arches an eyebrow in challenge, the _you so would_ left unsaid.

\---

"So what happens when the end of the night comes and no one's broken the no work talk rule?" Maria asks, pushing their now empty basket of shared fries to the edge of the table and reaching for the last of her beer.

"Then you just have to be faster than me," Natasha says, and right on cue, the waitress brings their now closed out tab.

Maria shakes her head. "I shouldn't be so surprised, but... _how_?!"

A smirk is all she gets in response before Natasha slides out of the booth and they make their way outside.

"You're the worst."

"You like me anyway," Natasha says, nudging her with her elbow.

"I do," Maria says, and the smile on her face is so earnest, so free, that it makes Natasha stop short. She forces herself not to over analyze it, not to look for a double meaning, and schools her features into something resembling neutral. They stand on the sidewalk, just looking at each other until another patron exiting the bar catches their attention and breaks their focus.

"Walk you home?" Natasha asks.

"You sure you don't want to get home to that swimming pool of vodka and the hot bath?"

"It'll still be waiting for me after I walk you home," Natasha says. She's still sore, but it aches less, the alcohol and the relaxing setting working wonders. Accelerated healing doesn't hurt, either.

"Then by all means..."

Natasha shoves her hands into the pocket of her hoodie instead of reaching for Maria's hand like she wants to. It doesn't stop her mind from wandering - envisioning their fingers intertwined, Maria's palm warm and comfortable against her own, thumb tracing idle patterns against her skin.

"Penny for 'em," Maria says after they walk a few blocks in silence.

"Thinking about that hot bath," she says, the lie spilling out easily. They stop at a corner to wait for the signals to change, and she looks over at Maria, a lazy smile spreading across her face.

"I'm only a few blocks," Maria offers, but Natasha shakes her head before she can even finish speaking.

"Gotta make sure you get home safe," Natasha says, bumping her shoulder into Maria's.

"Are you saying I can't take care of myself?" Maria asks, but her words are light, lacking any bite they may have if she was asking anyone else.

"I know how well you can take care of yourself, _Commander Hill_."

"I'm not the Commander anymore," Maria says, as if Natasha needed the reminder.

"You'll always be the Commander, Maria."

 _To me, anyway,_ is left unsaid, but Natasha wonders if Maria gets the hint anyway. Properly functioning S.H.I.E.L.D. or not, Natasha will always feel better with Maria as the brains behind an op. The abuse her body has taken over the last week has made her think - not for the first time - about asking Pepper if they could perhaps cut into some of Maria's Stark Industries time for some help with the Avengers. She obviously knows that Maria has been putting in some behind the scenes time with the fragments of S.H.I.E.L.D. that Coulson has been cobbling together, but it wouldn't be fair to monopolize the few moments of free time she does get.

It's not that the guys aren't _good_ at their jobs, but they're not _Maria_. Maria, who eats, sleeps, and breathes perfection. Maria, who sees angles and outcomes Natasha herself could never even dream up. Maria, who would always - and had always - sacrifice her own well-being to make sure her team came back safe. People often overlooked the influence she had on their missions, but Natasha had never ignored it, and it has only become more obvious since the downfall of S.H.I.E.L.D. in its most familiar form.

(Even Coulson, who worked with Maria for who knows how many years, can't put an op together like Maria.)

"This is me," Maria says, drawing Natasha from her thoughts.

"So it is." Natasha tries to hide the disappointment that their evening is over by plastering a smile on her face.

"Thanks for tonight," Maria says, leaning against the banister at the bottom of the front steps. "Even if you won't ever let me pay."

Natasha shrugs playfully, her smile widening. "How about you make me dinner next time?"

"Next time?" Maria asks with a smile and an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah. What was that one you told me your grandma taught you to make?"

"Cacciatore? I could do that."

"Same time next week?"

"Provided the end of the world doesn't happen? Absolutely."

Natasha laughs and bites her tongue before she can agree with _then it's a date_. Barton would never let her hear the end of that one.

"Can't wait," Natasha says instead.

They stand there, watching each other quietly for a moment, Natasha searching for something that she can't quite put her finger on. Even in the relative darkness, Maria's eyes look bluer than Natasha remembers them ever being, and it throws Natasha ever so slightly off-balance.

She manages to break her own focus and leans up, placing a kiss against Maria's cheek, lips barely brushing her warm skin.

"See ya tomorrow, Commander," she says with a wink and a mock salute, earning a laugh from Maria.

"Go home," Maria says, nudging Natasha playfully. "Get some rest."

Natasha smiles. "You too."

\---

Despite Steve’s texts asking her to join everyone for a movie, Natasha heads straight to her floor when she returns. She draws a warm bath with epsom salts and bubbles and pours herself a glass of vodka, her muscles instantly thanking her as she slips into the water. After relaxing for a moment, she reaches for her phone, snapping a picture of the rocks glass against a background of bubbles and sending it to Maria.

_Told you they'd wait for me._


	3. The Time Maria Cooks Natasha Dinner

When they break from training for lunch, Natasha grabs her stuff from her locker and heads up to her own place for some peace and quiet. The small team she's in charge of this rotation is actually doing well - she's kind of impressed with how far they've come in only two weeks - but she can only take so much mindless chatter and one-up-manship before she breaks. It's not unlike having a team full of just Tonys and Clints, and the two of them together are more than enough to drive Natasha insane.

Liho greets her by pouncing on her feet and she leans down to scratch her before making her way into the kitchen for leftovers. She doesn't bother with heating the food up and instead hops up on the counter, eating the noodles with one hand and scrolling through the notifications on her phone with the other. There are a few emails and a handful of texts waiting on her, but there's only one she actually checks - Maria's.

_Still on for tonight?_

Natasha smiles and writes back immediately.

_Absolutely._

_Good. :) I'll have to go shopping after work, but I'll try to get out of here a little early._

_Want company at the store?_

_Sure. I'll come up when I'm done?_

_Steve, Sam, and I will be in the training gym with the latest batch of recruits. You can watch us kick some rookie ass._

_Don't be too hard on them, Nat._

_I have no idea what you're talking about, Commander._

_;)_

_Thanks for the plausible deniability. Try not to break anyone._

\---

The rookies have just been sent off to the showers when Maria shows up. Natasha is still stretching in the ring, but looks up with a smile when she hears Maria's heels against the floor.

"Looks like I missed all the fun," she says, leaning against the edge of the ring.

"You can join me. I've got a few rounds left in me."

"Somehow I doubt my attire right now would be suitable for a round or two with you, Nat," Maria says, laughing as she gestures at her button down shirt and slacks, her blazer already off and hung over one of her arms. "I do miss it, though."

"You should come by one day and we can show off in front of the new kids. I'm sure they'd love that." Natasha slips out of the ring to stand next to Maria. "You're gonna have to deal with me all sweaty. I'm not showering with that many people."

Maria laughs. "I think I can handle it. I've dealt with you in worse shape. At least you're not bloody and covered in alien goo."

Natasha shudders and pulls a hoodie on before shouldering her bag. "Don't remind me."

"You can shower while I cook," Maria says, leading them out of the training room and to the elevator.

\---

The trip to the store is a quick one because Maria - of course - has an organized list of all the items she needs for dinner already typed out on her phone. Natasha picks up a few items of her own and when they step out of the store, Natasha turns to head the opposite way from which they came.

"Uh, Nat," Maria says, reaching out and gently grabbing her arm. "Wrong way?"

"No it's not," Natasha says, grinning but refusing to elaborate. She slips her hand into Maria's and guides them three blocks away, coming to a stop in front of a brownstone. She drops Maria's hand to fish for a set of keys in her bag.

"Home sweet home," she says as she holds the door open for her.

"What... where are we?" Maria asks, looking around as Natasha drops her bag in the entryway and toes off her shoes.

"My apartment."

"Ah, yes, that clarifies things," Maria says sarcastically.

Natasha reaches for the bag of groceries Maria had and carries it into the kitchen, placing it on the breakfast bar before moving to grab a glass from the cabinet. "Something to drink?"

"Water's fine," Maria says, eyes trained on Natasha the whole time. "I thought you lived at the Tower?"

"I do. But I also live here." Natasha says as she fills up their glasses and hands one to Maria before downing half of her own. "I bought this place before Stark gave us the places in the Tower, and didn't want to give it up. It's a good place to go when I wanna be alone, especially since no one knows I have it."

"No one?"

Natasha shakes her head and drains her glass before filling it up again. "Not even Clint. Congratulations, you're the first official visitor," she says, smiling. "Kitchen should be stocked with everything you need. Make yourself comfortable, I'm gonna go shower."

\---

Natasha's still partially drying her hair with a towel when she makes her way into the kitchen, barefoot and dressed in a pair of old jeans and a striped tank top.

"Good shower?" Maria asks, looking over her shoulder at Natasha.

"The water pressure in this place is _amazing_. And the hot water lasts forever." Natasha smiles and drapes the towel over one of the stools. "Wine?"

"Sure. We've got about 30 minutes til this is ready."

Natasha fishes through her drawers for a corkscrew and opens the bottle while Maria searches the cabinet to find the glasses.

"It smells delicious," Natasha says as she pours them each a glass, sliding one across the counter to Maria.

"Well, it's been a long time since I've cooked for anyone, so hopefully it'll taste that way, too."

"If it tastes half as good as it smells, I might just turn you into my personal chef," Natasha says, only half kidding. She places her wine on the breakfast bar and then jumps up to sit on the counter and observe. "Though I'm pretty sure I can't compete with Stark on salary."

Maria chuckles and leans against the bar next to Natasha. "Money isn't everything; I'm sure you could think of something," she says. "Did I tell you what Stark decided to start working on this week?"

Natasha groans and rolls her eyes. "Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not, but I'm going to tell you anyway."

Maria launches into the story of Tony's latest and greatest idea and what she and Pepper have had to do to keep him under control. Natasha sips on her wine, interjecting occasionally with her own commentary, and enjoying the relaxed banter. It all feels strangely domestic and normal - something Natasha never imagined for her own life - and she tries to ignore the tiny voice in her head that sounds suspiciously like Clint teasing her about third dates.

When Maria finishes her story, she moves to the stove to check on dinner and Natasha hops down to get their plates.

"Normally my dinners consist of takeout or leftovers and sitting on the couch watching TV with Liho at the Tower, but I figure we could probably be a little more civilized. How do you feel about a little outdoor dining?"

"I won't object to that," Maria says, taking the first plate and loading it up with the chicken cacciatore, pasta, and asparagus.

"Good." Natasha moves to grab them both sets of silverware and tops off their wine. "Can you handle both the plates?" she asks as she tucks an unopened bottle of wine under her arm and gathers both of their glasses.

"I'm good. Where to?"

"Follow me," Natasha says, leading them to the stairs. They climb the three flights and Natasha nudges the door to the roof open, holding it for Maria.

"Holy shit," Maria says as she steps through the door, taking in the view as she heads for the small bistro table set up near one of the edges.

Aside from the table, there's a small outdoor chaise longue and table and a few strings of Edison lights strung up, creating a quiet sanctuary that Natasha enjoys escaping to for some alone time.

They take a moment to set up the table, shifting their plates and glasses around so everything fits on the table.

"This looks amazing, Maria," Natasha says as she slides into her chair. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Maria says. "You haven't tried it."

Natasha answers by cutting into the chicken and taking a small bite. She moans in appreciation, eyes closing as she savors the taste.

"You underestimate yourself. This is _glorious_."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Romanoff," Maria says, cutting into her own food.

"It's only flattery when it's not true."

"You know, if I knew you had a place with a view like this, I'd have cooked dinner for you much sooner," Maria teases, eyes on the sunset in the distance.

"Noted," Natasha says with a smile, eyeing the sunset as well. "This was easily the selling point for me. I definitely didn't want to give this up, as nice as the Tower can be."

"I don't blame you."

The rest of dinner is a relatively quiet affair, both of them savoring the chance to actually have a home cooked meal for once. Even without an alien invasion or Hydra sleeper agents, dinner rarely consisted of more than take out or something from a box for either of them. Between enjoying that and the scenery, the silence that settles around them is comfortable. By time they finish, the sun has almost completely disappeared below the horizon and the sparsely visible stars have started to appear overhead.

"More wine?" Maria asks as she as she uncorks the new bottle.

Natasha slides her glass toward Maria, watching her with a smile.

"I hope you saved room for dessert," Maria says as she hands Natasha's glass back over to her.

"Mmmm... I could maybe be convinced in a bit."

"Good, because we have cannoli. It's not homemade, though, so don't get your hopes up."

Natasha arches an eyebrow. "Are desserts also in your repertoire?"

"A few." Maria shrugs nonchalantly before taking a sip of her wine..

"Well then, I definitely think I'm gonna have to work on coming up with something to woo you away from SI to become my personal chef."

Maria smiles and holds her glass out to Natasha in toast. "To your future efforts."

"To my future efforts," Natasha says, laughing as she clinks their glasses together and takes a sip.

Maria stretches out in her chair, tilting her head up to look at the night sky. "I love when you can actually see the stars in New York."

Natasha looks away from Maria and up at the sky as well. "You should see them out at Barton's farm. I've never seen so many stars in my life." She pauses for a second and looks back at Maria. "You should come with me sometime."

"I'd love that," Maria says, turning to meet Natasha's gaze, a bright smile on her face. She shivers slightly as the wind picks up and it catches Natasha's attention immediately.

"C'mon," she says, standing up and starting to gather their plates. "Let's get you inside where it's warmer."

"I'm fine, it was just a chill," Maria says in protest, but Natasha persists.

"We can try that cannoli you brought, and you can tell me about all these desserts you're going to make for me when I hire you as my personal chef."

After dropping off the dishes from dinner in the sink, Natasha gathers the few remaining dishes from cooking and places them in the sink, getting to work on washing them. Maria snags the dish towel hanging on one of the drawer handles and starts drying the dishes in the rack.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asks, turning to look at her.

"Drying."

"You cooked," she says, trying to nudge Maria away with her hip.

"So? You wash, I'll dry."

They make quick work of the dishes, and Natasha tries not to think about how their seamless teamwork easily translates to something like doing the dishes.

\---

They're sitting on the couch together, curled up on opposite ends with their heads resting against the back of the couch and looking at each other. An empty plate that once held several mini cannolis is between them and their empty wine glasses are on the table, the second bottle of wine long gone. Natasha can feel her eyes getting heavy, but she makes no effort to move from where she is, just yawns and snuggles a little closer into herself.

"I should get going," Maria says, as she watches her. "It's late."

'Stay,' is what Natasha wants to say, but instead she says, "Thanks for dinner. It was amazing."

"Any time."

Maria's gaze is unyielding, the hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth inviting, and Natasha is overwhelmed with the urge to _kiss_. Her fingers twitch, itching to twist into the fabric of Maria's shirt, to pull her into a bruising kiss and ask her to stay. Instead, her fingers knot into fabric of her own hoodie, grasping until she can trust them not to betray her.

Natasha stands shortly after Maria does and walks her to the door.

"You good to get home?" Natasha asks, knowing full well that Maria is more than capable of taking care of herself.

Maria straightens up from slipping on her shoes, and slips her blazer back on. "Yeah, I'm... I'll hail a cab."

"Okay."

They both linger at the door, quiet, and it's the first time of the night the silence feels forced and awkward.

Maria is the one to break the silence with a quiet, "Good night, Nat," before she turns to leave.

"Maria," Natasha says, stopping her as she turns away.

"Yeah?"

The look in Maria's eyes is almost hopeful, but still, Natasha panics. They're friends - _best_ friends, Natasha would say, if someone asked - and it's not something she's going to ruin that on an impulse she knows she can control.

"I, uh... let me know when you get home?" Natasha's words are stilted, making it obvious it's not what she had intended to say at all, and Maria's face shifts, plastering on a tight smile.

"Yeah, sure," she says, and then she's out the door.

Natasha stares at the spot Maria had just occupied for a moment, and then steps forward to lock the door. She drops her head against the metal frame, sighing heavily before heading into bed, not even bothering with the dishes still in the living room.

As she climbs into bed, she mentally kicks herself for not taking the risk, consequences be damned. She also curses Barton for his incessant teasing, forcing the thought of dating Maria into the forefront of her mind after she'd repressed it long ago.

The sound of her phone draws her out of her thoughts and she grabs at it, the message displayed on the screen only containing one word:

 _Home_.

She sighs, rubbing her hand over her face before unlocking the screen. Even through text, Maria's tone seems terse, but Natasha tells herself the short reply is just due to the late hour.

_Good night, Masha._

She hovers over the send button, but then deletes it and changes it to something a little less personal.

_I'm glad you made it safe. Sleep well._

As soon as she changes it, she switches to a new message and types one out to Clint.

_I hate you._

\---

It's been a long time since Natasha's stayed at her other apartment on a work night, and as such, she wakes up later than she should to get there on time. She shoots a quick text to Steve and Sam to let them know she'd be late, then makes her way through her morning routine, slightly more rushed than normal. Despite the late start, she still makes time to stop by her favorite coffee shop figuring there was no harm in being later when she was already behind.

In addition to her own coffee and breakfast, she grabs a coffee and pastry for Maria, hoping to make up for the awkward ending to their evening the night before. When she reaches the Tower, she heads straight for Maria's office only to find it empty. She pokes her head back out of the office, leaning around to catch the eye of Maria's assistant.

"Is Maria in yet?" she asks.

"Miss Hill's in a meeting with Miss Potts. She should be back in the next few minutes if you want to wait," the assistant tells her.

Natasha considers it, but knows she should get to work, so she leaves the coffee and pastry next to Maria's computer and jots a quick note on a purple Post-it note that she sticks to Maria's monitor.

_Thanks again for dinner. My treat next time. Tuesday? – N_

\---

Instead of lunch, Natasha opts to hit the gym with Clint. She'd spent most of the morning watching Steve and Sam run drills with the recruits and needed _something_ to take the edge off the frustration of watching the incompetence for hours.

"So I heard you got in late today," Clint says as Natasha climbs into the ring.

"Yeah. Elevator was broken," Natasha deadpans.

They bump fists in the middle of the ring and then back up, circling each other. Natasha's hopes that the spar will distract him are immediately dashed as he keeps up with his chatter.

"No it wasn't."

Natasha throws a light punch that easily lands across his jaw.

"So it wasn't. What are you gonna do, write me up for being late?" Natasha asks, easily ducking his return punch. She knows _exactly_ where he's trying to go with this, but she's not going to give in to the teasing.

"How was your date with Hill last night? Third one, wasn't it?" Clint asks in lieu of answering, barely managing to evade a left cross and coming back with a quick jab of his own that Natasha easily ducks again.

"I hate you," she says, growling as she throws another punch that he dodges.

"Yeah, your text last night established that. And what did I do this time?"

"Just being you," she says, faking a left jab and then connecting to the right. "Anyway, it wasn't a date, Barton. We're _not_ dating."

She fails to mention the part where she almost made an ass out of herself and kissed Maria at the end of the night.

"Sure about that?" Clint asks after landing a soft hit at her shoulder. "She cooked you dinner."

"So? Are you saying people can't cook dinner for their friends?"

"And what did you do after?" He asks, blocking a forearm to his throat.

She lands a few jabs to the ribs and then backs up a bit before answering. "Hung out on the roof, talked, drank some wine," she says, then ducks down low and tackles him to the ground, pinning him for two before he shoves her off.

"So a date." He grins wolfishly, then grunts as Natasha sneaks a kick in before he can get up.

"No."

"But you want it to be, yeah?"

"You know -" she starts, landing a few jabs and elbows against him as he gets up. "Just because I'm into women, doesn't mean I want to date all of them." She lands a particularly hard blow to his chest, as if to emphasize her frustration with both the teasing and the situation itself.

"I'm not talking about all of them," Clint says, panting as he tries to catch his breath after her last blow. "I'm talking about Maria."

She sighs, knowing she's getting nowhere with him, and deep down she knows it's because he can read her. And he knows he's right, which will make him absolutely insufferable if he ever finds out. "We're just friends."

"With benefits," he says, teasingly, then lets out a loud _oomph_ when Natasha takes his legs out again and rolls him into an armbar. She wrenches back and he taps, but she doesn't release the hold, only pulls a little harder until he says, "Alright! Fine! It wasn't a date."

She rolls out of the ring, grinning as he rubs his shoulder and mutters an _ow_.


	4. The Time Maria Stays Over

On most of her days off from training the new recruits, Natasha's still busy. Sometimes it's catching up with Coulson's team at The Playground, sometimes it's running ops for the Avengers (which are mostly recon missions off tips JARVIS uncovered), sometimes it's helping Steve track down leads on Bucky, and sometimes it's helping clear out newly formed Hydra cells dwelling in the shadows.

Today, though, is blissfully free, and after a run in the morning, Natasha parks herself on her couch and spends the rest of the morning, and into the afternoon, browsing through Stark's endless catalogue of streaming films and perusing books she'd never had a chance to finish. (Or start, for that matter.)

When her stomach starts to grumble around noon, she's half-tempted to make her way down to the Stark Industries offices and drag Maria away from whatever stack of paperwork she's in the middle of to get lunch with her. Instead, she settles for whatever fruit she has in her fridge and a yogurt and texts Maria instead.

_Any ideas what you want for dinner tomorrow?_

It takes awhile, but eventually Maria responds with a simple:

_Food?_

_Very funny._

_I'm down for whatever. Surprise me?_

_Okay. Just remember that tomorrow when we're eating dinner from a street vendor._

_I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to that. Some of that food is incredible. Maybe no seafood though?_

_Noted._

With free reign over the decisions for tomorrow, her options are (almost) limitless, but she's immediately struck with an idea.

\---

It's nearly 8 o'clock in the evening by time Natasha orders dinner, having ignored the growling in her stomach for far too long. She shoves the take out menu back in the drawer she'd dug it out of and her phone buzzes, screen flashing on to notify her she has a message from Maria. She leans against the counter and swipes to unlock the screen and read.

_Ugh. I am JUST leaving the office. I thought I left this kind of work day behind when S.H.I.E.L.D. went underground._

_Maybe if you weren't so good at your job._

_But seriously. I hope Stark pays you overtime._

_Ha. "Overtime."_

_I could convince him to._

_Would that convincing involve anything that is a part of your tac suit?_

_Maybe._

_I'll consider it then._

_Have you actually left the Tower yet?_

_Not yet. Shutting down my computer right now._

_Come up? I just ordered more take out than I could ever eat and I've got a bottle of scotch with your name on it._

_Have I mentioned that you're my favorite?_

Taking Maria's text as a confirmation, Natasha heads back into the living room to straighten up a bit before she arrives. She restacks her books on the end table and gathers her plates and glasses from lunch, dumping them into the sink before grabbing two new glasses from the cabinet.

The ding of the elevator announces Maria's arrival at her floor, and Liho rushes to greet her, winding between Maria's feet and mewling for attention.

"Liho, at least let her put her things down," Natasha says, her scolding tone ruined by the laughter laced in it. Liho ignores her anyway, choosing to continue mewling and head butting Maria's calf until she leans down to pet her.

"She's fine," Maria says as she gives Liho a thorough scratching behind her ears. She pauses for a moment to slip off her shoes and set her bag next to them, and then Liho practically jumps into her arms.

Natasha stares in awe as Maria nuzzles and scratches Liho, the cat relaxed and purring as she playfully bats at the stray hairs that have fallen from Maria's bun for a moment until she leaps down and goes scampering down the hall.

"You know she won't let anyone else do that?" Natasha asks, eyes following Liho until she disappears from sight.

"What? Pick her up?"

"Yeah. Every time someone tries, she darts off in the other direction or in the case of Clint and Tony, she tries to claw their arms off."

Maria laughs and shakes her head. "I guess she likes me."

"She's a smart one," Natasha says with a smile. "Food should be here in about 15. Hope you like dim sum."

"I do. But honestly, I'd probably eat a cardboard box if you gave it to me right now," Maria says as she leans against the bar.

"None of that," Natasha says, shaking her head. She knows all too well about being too busy to stop and eat, but she also knows Maria would also give her crap for it if the situations were reversed. "When was the last time you ate?"

Maria squints, trying to think back on her day. "Well. I know I ate breakfast. And then there was a granola bar around... maybe 1?"

Natasha shakes her head and then drops it against the counter in (somewhat) mock frustration. "I knew I should have dragged you out for lunch."

"I probably would have refused."

"And I would have made you go anyway."

"Probably."

"Definitely," Natasha says, looking up at Maria. "You know, if you want to change into something more comfortable, you're welcome to raid my closet."

" _That_ I will definitely take you up on."

"You know where it is, so by all means..." Natasha gestures in the general direction of her bedroom.

Natasha makes herself busy for the next few minutes, washing the few dishes she had brought into the kitchen just before Maria arrived and setting out new plates and silverware for their dinner. She grabs the liquor from her overstocked liquor cabinet, and pours a few fingers of vodka for herself and scotch for Maria just as the other woman makes her way back out to the living area.

Natasha looks up when she hears Maria entering the room and the sight of her temporarily renders Natasha motionless. Maria's in a pair of Natasha's leggings - which fit like capris on Maria's longer legs - and an old S.H.I.E.L.D. hoodie that's so worn you can barely see the logo anymore. In addition to the change of clothes, she's also washed the makeup from her face and her bun is gone, hair hanging further down her shoulders than Natasha remembers it.

Once again, Natasha is hit with the simple domesticity of their interactions - Maria coming home after a long day at work, cuddling with Liho, and wearing Natasha's clothes. It's something Natasha knows she could get used to, but she puts a lid on that thought process and shoves it away.

"Wow. Your hair's _long_ ," she says, internally cringing at how she sounds. Still, she could have voiced her actual thoughts, which would have been significantly worse.

Maria moves back toward the kitchen and takes a seat at one of the stools on the opposite side of the bar, laughing as she shakes her head, hair flying free around her shoulders.

"I've been thinking about cutting it," Maria says, running her fingers through the ends and inspecting it. "I've always got it up anyway."

"I like it like this. It's just been awhile since I've seen it down," Natasha says. Her hands reach out to touch it, but catches herself and diverts her hands to Maria's drink.

"Scotch?"

"Of course," Maria says as Natasha hands it over. She takes a sip and closes her eyes, a slight moan escaping her lips. "God that's good."

Natasha shrugs. "Won it in a bet with Stark."

Maria takes another sip and reaches for the bottle, eyes going wide when she sees the label. "Jesus Christ, Nat. That's like a 1,500 dollar bottle of scotch. What the hell was the bet?"

Natasha laughs, because _of course_ Tony would randomly have a bottle of scotch in his everyday liquor cabinet. "He bet me his entire liquor cabinet that I couldn't out drink him."

"You'd think he'd have learned after the bet with Steve and Thor."

"Right? But hey, his loss, my gain."

"True," Maria says. "What do you think he'd do if he found out I drank his expensive scotch while wearing sweatpants and eating takeout on your couch?"

Natasha laughs so hard she nearly snorts. "I don't know, but I think we should find out," she says, moving to grab her phone from the living room. When she comes back, she grabs her drink and switches the camera on the phone into selfie mode while Maria grabs the bottle and her own drink.

"C'mon," she says, pressing into Maria's side as they snap a few pictures of themselves with the drinks. Some they smile, some they make silly faces, and on a whim, Natasha presses her lips against Maria's cheek for one of them.

(It's a fantastically stupid idea, because her lips end up closer to the corner of Maria's mouth than she intended and now her thoughts are 100% focused on kissing Maria.)

"Let me see," Maria says, swiping the phone and looking through the pictures. Natasha is still in a daze so she lets Maria choose which one to send on her own.

Maria hands the phone back, message to Tony still open. The picture is one where they're both pulling a face, Natasha with her tongue out and Maria looking like she's growling. Natasha sends the photo, with a caption of _Thanks for the drinks, Stark!_

Almost immediately, Tony responds.

_YOU CAN'T DRINK THAT SCOTCH JUST BECAUSE!_

_And I still maintain you cheated, Romanoff. We're going to have a rematch._

Natasha shows Maria the phone and they both laugh. "He will never learn, will he?" Maria asks.

"I hope not," Natasha says, and then holds up her glass in toast. "To bruising Stark's fragile ego."

"I'll toast to that," Maria says, clinking their glasses together before taking a drink. "But we do have to save the rest of this for a very special occasion."

Natasha's phone beeps, notifying her of the delivery driver's arrival.

"Food's here. I'll be right back."

"You sure you don't want me to help with that?" Maria asks.

"Nah, I'll be quick. Help yourself to the liquor cabinet." Natasha gestures towards it as she heads out the door to make her way to the lobby.

While waiting on the elevator, she sends a quick message to the delivery driver, letting them know she'll be right down. Just before closing the app out, she catches notice of her message list, specifically her messages to Maria.

 **Maria Hill**                                                                         **20:12** PM

_Attachment: 2 images_

Natasha's brows crinkle in confusion and she clicks on the conversation to see that Maria sent herself the picture they'd sent to Tony, as well as the one of Natasha kissing her cheek. A smile threatens to break out on her face and she bites her bottom lip in a not so successful attempt to hold it in, staring at the pictures on her screen til it goes black.

By the time Natasha makes it back to the apartment with the food, she's managed to school her face into a much more neutral expression, even if she's internally screaming. She hefts the two bags of food up on the counter and sets to work sorting them out.

Maria looks at the food, eyes going wide. "So...I thought you were kind of joking about ordering too much food, but now I can't help but wonder if you were trying to feed the entire team and some of the recruits."

"Ha. Ha." Natasha reaches for the plates, handing one over to Maria so she can dig in. "I just couldn't decide what I wanted."

"So you decided to have it all?"

"Hey, not everyone is blessed with cooking skills like yours. I need leftovers."

"Fair enough."

Once they finish loading up their plates, they head back to the living room and get settled onto the couch. Natasha picks up the remote and turns on the television.

"Movie?"

"Sure."

"Then you get to pick," Natasha says, handing the remote over to her. "I already spent too much of my day overwhelmed by Stark's media server."

"I think I can handle that," Maria says and starts scrolling through the server to find them something to watch.

\---

When the credits roll, Maria stretches her legs out and then tucks them back underneath herself, repositioning her body to face Natasha. "You know, it's been a long time since I've done this."

Natasha turns to face her, drawing her knees up to her chest and letting her arms drape around her knees. "What, watched a movie?"

"Well... all of it, to be honest. Dinner and a movie in my pajamas? It's been _at least_ a year. Probably more."

"Well then I guess you'll just have to join me more often."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Natasha nods and smiles at Maria. "This is basically my day off tradition."

"Hmm, yeah, I could get used to that." Maria yawns suddenly. "Sorry. I should go put the leftovers up."

"I've got it. You stay here." Natasha stands and collects their plates and empty glasses. "You want a refill?"

"Just some water?" Maria looks up at Natasha, exhaustion evident in her eyes.

Natasha nods and heads for the kitchen, dropping off their plates and filling a glass with water for Maria. She quickly packs away the leftovers and makes her way back to the living room, where Maria is stretched out on the couch, picking out another movie.

Natasha places the glass of water on the coffee table, then moves to the couch.

"Up," Natasha says, tapping Maria's shoulder and sliding on to the couch when she raises her head. As soon as she's settled, legs stretched out on the lounge portion of the couch, Maria drops her head into Natasha's lap. Natasha's body instantly freezes and she closes her eyes, mentally counting to 10 to keep her breathing under control. When she opens them, Maria's looking up at her with a lazy smile.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Natasha clears her throat and rests her hand on Maria's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Fine. What's up next?"

" _Whip It_ " Maria says, turning to face the television so she can start the film.

"Haven't see that one."

"You'll like it."

\---

"Y'know, you'd have made a good derby girl," Maria says during the scene with the first bout. "Still would. You've even got the perfect derby name already."

Natasha laughs, low and throaty, and she runs her fingers through Maria's hair, brushing it back from her face so she can lean over and look at her. "You sure about that? I might accidentally check someone too hard and send them to the hospital."

"Mmmhmm. You'd make an excellent pivot." Maria pauses, taking a deep breath as Natasha continues playing with her hair. "I played for a few years. Junior league, when I was a teenager."

"Please tell me there's pictures."

Maria nods. "Somewhere, yeah."

"What was your derby name?"

"Bloody Maria. I gave a girl a bloody nose during tryouts, so it was kind of a given before I even made the team."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Natasha says, chuckling. "You've always been a bad ass, haven't you?"

"Maybe a little bit."

"You'll have to tell me more about these roller derby stories sometime."

"I will."

They turn their focus back to the screen, falling back into a companionable silence. Natasha's fingers continue to work their way through Maria's hair, nails dragging lightly against her scalp and neck, and after several minutes, Maria shifts so she's facing Natasha.

"You're gonna put me to sleep like this," Maria says, even as she shifts closer to the contact. Her eyelids are heavy and she looks like she could fall asleep at any moment.

"So sleep."

"Can't. Early meeting."

"What time?"

"Seven. But I'd have to get home to shower and get ready."

"Are you telling me that Maria Hill doesn't have at least one change of clothes in her office?" Natasha asks, poking at Maria's side and causing her to squirm.

Maria laughs, her cheeks flushing as she turns to hide her face against Natasha's stomach.

"Stay," Natasha whispers, brushing her fingers across Maria's forehead. "You can take my bed, if you don't mind sharing with Liho."

"I'll stay here," Maria says, insistent. "I can't kick you out of your own bed."

"I sleep on the couch all the time. I can sleep anywhere."

"Fine," Maria says, eyes slipping closed as Natasha's ministrations. "I'll go after the movie."

"Okay."

\---

Maria is sound asleep before the end of the movie. Natasha, not wanting to wake her, sets an alarm on her phone and shifts into a slightly more comfortable position for sleep. She wedges herself into the corner, sinking into the oversized pillows, and tangles her fingers into Maria's loose hair, drifting off as well.


	5. The Time Natasha Goes All Out

It's exactly 6 o'clock when Natasha shows up at Maria's office. She leans against the door frame, watching Maria work for a second before tapping her nails lightly against the door to catch her attention.

Maria startles, looking up from her paperwork, but her face instantly relaxes into a smile when she sees it's Natasha.

"Hey you."

"Hey yourself." Natasha returns the smile. "You about ready?"

"Five minutes. Maybe ten. I have to sign the rest of these documents," Maria says, gesturing to the stack of papers in front of her. "Then I have to run them by Pepper's office, come back here and change."

"Okay," Natasha says. "I can run those up to Pepper while you change, if you want me to."

"You don't have to," Maria says, shaking her head. "Not your job."

"Not anymore, but it's doing a favor for you," Natasha says, taking a seat at Maria's desk. "I don't mind."

"Okay."

Maria smiles again, eyes lingering on Natasha for a moment before flipping through the rest of the documents and signing in the appropriate places. When she reaches the end, she flips back through all the blue _SIGN HERE_ arrows to make sure she hasn't missed any before handing them over to Natasha.

"Thank you." Maria stands from her desk and moves toward the small closet in the corner of her office where she keeps her clothes. "I'll be just a minute."

"Not a problem," Natasha says, winking as she stands to make her way to Pepper's office.

"Oh. Nat?"

Maria voice stops Natasha in her tracks just as she makes it out the door, and she turns back to look at Maria. "Yeah?"

"You look good," Maria says, giving her a once over.

"Thanks," Natasha says, immediately ducking away from the door so Maria doesn't see the blush take over her face. After a moment, when she's sure that the blush has faded, she heads down the hall to Pepper's office.

The door is open when she arrives, but she raps at the door with three quick knocks anyway and Pepper calls for her to come in without looking up from her computer.

"Hey, Pepper," Natasha says, moving toward her desk.

"Natasha!" Pepper looks up, shocked. Even though she lives and works in the building, she's rarely on the Stark Industries floor, other than in Maria's office. "What are you doing here?"

Natasha holds up the papers in her left hand, waving them a little. "Just dropping these off for Maria."

"Oh."

"We're headed out to dinner and she wanted to change first, so I said I'd bring these over to you," Natasha says, shrugging and choosing to ignore the questioning look Pepper shoots her at the mention of her dinner with Maria. "I hadn't seen you in a while, so I though I'd say hi."

"It has been too long. We should have lunch sometime soon to catch up."

"Just let me know when and I'll make the time."

"I'll send you a message next week, once we get through all this," Pepper says, pointing at the stack of papers Natasha had just delivered. "Enjoy your date."

Natasha groans. "Not you, too."

Pepper gives her a curious look, raising her eyebrow in question.

"Nothing. Nevermind," Natasha says, waving it off. "Nevermind. Have a good night!"

\---

The restaurant Natasha takes them to for dinner is a small Italian place a few blocks away from her apartment, hidden away in the basement level of a building that you could walk past a million times without ever knowing it was there. Despite the clandestine location, the restaurant is filled to capacity, with patrons standing in the bar area as they wait to be seated. The host greets them with a warm smile and a good evening and leads them immediately to their seats without even asking Natasha's name or if they have a reservation.

They're seated at a table for two in the back, the chatter of the bar barely a low hum from that distance. The host fills their glasses with water, placing the carafe between.

Normally, Natasha would be chatting up a storm, but she's a little distracted by Maria, watching her as she takes in the atmosphere.

"Gino will be your waiter tonight," the host says, smiling at both of them and placing menus in front of them. "I'll send him right over."

"Thank you, Sophia," Natasha says.

Sophia gives a slight nod and then leaves their table. Natasha turns her focus back on Maria, whose eyes are still roaming.

"How did you even find this place?"

"I like to explore. Stumbled upon this place a few years ago and fell in love."

"Well, I can see why," Maria says, looking around the small room and taking everything in. "It's very charming."

Natasha _hmmm_ s in agreement. It's quiet and intimate, and honestly - it's _exactly_ the type of place Natasha would take someone on a date, which may have favored into her decision. Just a little.

"Food's amazing, too," Natasha says with a smile. "The company doesn't hurt, either."

Maria blushes and looks away, hiding her smile behind her glass of water as the waiter approaches them.

"Miss Natasha," the waiter greets. "And who's the lovely lady?"

"Gino, this is Maria. Maria, Gino," she says, gesturing between them.

Gino nods toward Maria. "Pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well," Maria says with a smile.

Gino nods. "Miss Natasha is my favorite regular," he stage whispers to Maria. "It's good to see her with some company for once."

Maria gives Natasha a look Nat can't figure out.

"Have you made any decisions yet? Maybe some appetizers or some wine.”

Natasha looks at Maria. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

"Then we'll have the usual," Natasha says.

"Very well. It's good to see you again, Miss Natasha. I'll be back with some wine," Gino says, and with a nod, he disappears to place their order.

"So, what's the usual?" Maria asks.

Natasha laughs. "Whatever the chef feels like. I come here _a lot_ , so he knows my tastes. Sometimes I'm a taste tester for new specials, sometimes it's an old favorite. Haven't been disappointed yet."

"You surprise me more and more, Natasha Romanoff."

\---

Dinner is a long, casual affair which they navigate easily. Never one for small talk or easily exposing her feelings, Natasha somehow finds it incredibly easy to share with Maria. Even without conscious effort, their topics skirt away from work, only peripherally touching it when the anecdote involves someone else (such as Natasha's story of the jet ski competition between Clint and herself from a weekend she'd spent at the beach with The Bartons). They share their food, eating from one another's plates as often as their own, and Natasha has a running tally of the the number of times they've casually touched during dinner. (Right now, she's torn between 14 and 15, undecided on if the fact that Maria's ankle has been lightly grazing the inside of her calf for the last 5 minutes is actually a casual touch or not.)

When their plates are cleared and wine glasses almost empty, Gino returns to the table to refill their wine and clear the plates. "Have you saved room for dessert?"

Natasha looks at Maria, who shrugs. "Give us a few minutes to decide?"

"Of course, Miss Natasha," Gino says and then disappears with their plates.

"I probably ate more food than I normally do in an entire week, but I'm open to dessert as well," Maria says.

"Well they have an incredible tiramisu here," Natasha says, pausing to drink the last of her wine. "but... there's also a little cafe not far from here that I've been wanting to try that apparently has amazing ice cream and pastries."

"I haven't ice cream in forever. Feel like taking a walk?"

Natasha smiles and waves Gino over. "I think we're going to pass on dessert tonight, Gino," she says, and then slips her card from her wallet and hands it to him. "Everything was wonderful as expected, though. Please give Francesca our compliments."

"She'll be glad to hear, Miss Natasha. I'll be right back."

When Natasha turns her attention back from Gino, Maria's smiling at her.

"What?" Natasha asks.

"You."

"Care to elaborate on that one?"

Maria shakes her head gently. "Just... you."

\---

"I can't believe they had all those flavors and you got _vanilla_ ," Maria says as they exit the cafe. "Who knew Natasha Romanoff could be so boring.”

"Vanilla is a perfectly valid flavor," Natasha says, narrowing her eyes and holding her cone to her chest defensively.

Maria laughs and nudges her with her elbow. "C'mon, just admit you're a little boring," she says, taking a bite of her ice cream cone.

"No one's ever accused me of being boring, Hill," Natasha says, stepping in front of Maria and stopping her abruptly.

"First time for everything, _Romanoff_."

"Yeah?"

"Vanilla ice cream is boring, thus, you are boring."

Natasha smiles, but instead of responding, she leans in, stealing a bite from Maria's cone and raising her eyebrow in challenge.

"Thief!" Maria laughs and leans forward to swipe a bite from Natasha's ice cream, but Natasha pulls it out of the way.

"Nuh-uh. Vanilla's boring, remember?" Natasha licks at the cone, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Maria just shakes her head and reaches for Natasha's arm, hooking her left hand in the crook of Natasha's right elbow and turning her around to continue their walk back to the Tower. She doesn't let go and Natasha says nothing, but leans a little further into Maria and continues eating her ice cream.

\---

"Thank you for tonight," Maria says as they approach the Tower. "You know you don't have to pay every time we go out, though."

"I know. But I can't cook so it's only fair."

Maria laughs. "So are you saying I'm making dinner again next time?"

"I wouldn't complain," Natasha says, slipping her arm from Maria's to scan her fingerprint on the door lock at the private entrance.

"Noted," Maria says, walking through the door Natasha is holding open for her. "Saturday?"

Natasha frowns and presses the call button for the elevator. "I'm actually headed to Paris tomorrow."

"Not typically something someone frowns about. New mission?"

"Not officially. Steve's still trying to find Bucky and he asked Sam and me to come meet him. Getting close this time, I guess."

"Ah." Maria nods in acknowledgement as the elevator doors slide open. "Good luck then, I guess."

"We'll see." Natasha reaches out, using her arm to hold the elevator open. "I've gotta pack but... You wanna come up?"

"Sure."

Liho greets them at the door, winding her way through their feet until Natasha picks her up, scratching under her chin and saying hello.

"Drink?"

"I'm good," Maria says.

"Okay," Natasha says, and they make their way to her room. She gestures at the bed. "Make yourself comfortable."

Maria climbs on the bed, settling against the headboard, legs crossed at the ankles. Liho kneads her way into the pillows next to Maria, curling up with her tail draped over Maria's arm. Natasha smiles and retreats to her closet, digging through for something to wear.

"So how long are you going to be gone?"

"Not sure. I'm guessing just a few days. Maybe a week?"

Maria _hmmm_ s. "I guess I'll have to entertain myself for a week."

Natasha laughs. "Would you mind checking on Liho for me a few times while I'm gone? Her food is on a timer, and Stark set her up a continuous fountain, but she's a holy terror when I get home and she hasn't had human interaction for a few days."

"I can't imagine _this_ being a holy terror," Maria says, running her fingers through Liho's coat and the cat purrs contentedly, swishing her tail against Maria's arm. "But of course I will."

"You're already on the clearance list to get to my floor. Feel free to hang out if you want to, watch a movie or whatever."

"Mmm. Kay."

Natasha finishes packing, filling a second duffle bag with gear for the trip. When she steps back into the room, Maria is asleep, head lulled to one side and hand resting on Liho's belly. Liho's paws are wrapped around Maria's wrist and she's out too.

Natasha smiles and tip toes to the dresser to pick up her phone and snap a few quick photos. Satisfied, she makes her way to Maria's side, brushing her fingers against Maria's shin. "Hey you," she says quietly, settling on the edge of the bed.

Maria twitches and rolls her head to the other side, facing Natasha when she opens her eyes slowly. "Mmmm, hi. Sorry I fell asleep on you."

"You're fine," Natasha says, continuing her gentle ministrations against Maria's skin.

"I should go."

"It's almost 1 am, you can stay."

"Two nights in a row at your place? What's Stark gonna think?"

Natasha laughs. "There's a reason that JARVIS can only report to Stark when there's an emergency on my floor."

"Sleepovers a common occurrence?" Maria asks. Natasha can't help but notice the hint of jealousy and she smiles.

"Only with you." Natasha's pats Maria's thigh. "C'mon, get into something more comfortable."

Natasha changes first, taking her bags to the door while Maria changes as well. She makes it back to the bedroom just as Maria exits the bathroom, wearing the same clothes she'd borrowed the night before.

"Any early morning meetings?" Natasha asks, leaning against the doorframe as she sets the alarm on her phone.

"Nope," Maria says.

"Alright. Sleep well."

Maria looks at her curiously. "Where are you going?"

"Couch?"

Maria rolls her eyes, stepping into Natasha's space. "C'mon," she says, taking Natasha's hands and tugging. "Your bed is big enough for both of us."

"I have to get up early, I don't want to wake you."

"It's fine," Maria says, walking backward toward the bed, pulling Natasha with her, and Natasha tries to ignore the fact that in a different life, Maria pulling her into bed could be ending a completely different way than it will tonight. "I forced you to sleep on the couch last night, I'm not gonna make you do it again."

Maria lets go of her hands, making her way around the bed and climbing in. Natasha plugs her phone into the charger on the nightstand and slides into the other side, sticking as close to the edge as possible to avoid the temptation of reaching out to Maria.

"You're going to fall out of bed in the middle of the night if you try to sleep there." Maria smiles at her, teasing. "I don't bite."

"I don't actually believe that."

Maria smirks. "Well, not if you don't want me to, anyway."

Natasha laughs, turns over and switches the light out before facing Maria again. She shifts, moving closer, and they both ignore the way their knees brush under the covers. Liho jumps back up on the bed, settling between them, and Maria and Natasha both reach to pet her at the same time, fingers brushing against each other.

"G'night, Nat," Maria says, eyes already drifting shut.

Natasha runs her thumb over Maria's knuckles and smiles. "Goodnight, Masha."

\---

Natasha wakes just before her alarm is set to go off and she switches it off before it has a chance to ring and disturb Maria. She watches her for a moment, smiling at her sleep mussed hair and the way Liho has curled herself around her shoulders, head butted up against Maria's neck. She slips from the bed silently and makes her way to the bathroom, changing and rushing through her morning routine.

She forgoes the coffee in her own kitchen to keep the noise to a minimum and heads for the elevator, heading down to the Stark Industries floor.

"JARVIS, can you let me into Maria's office?"

"Absolutely, Miss Romanoff. Shall I also prepare the coffee maker on the common floor for you?"

"Yes, please."

Natasha makes quick work of grabbing one of Maria's spare outfits from her office and then stops by the common floor to grab the cup of coffee JARVIS had prepared for her before heading back to her place.

She scribbles a quick note for Maria and then heads back into the bedroom to hang up the outfit and leave the note by the alarm clock.

_Don't worry - you're not running late. I changed the alarm so you could sleep in instead of going home to get ready. I snagged one of your spare outfits from your office (JARVIS let me in). Feel free to take a shower here; coffee will be ready when you are._

_Have a good day - I'll see you soon._

_\- N_

 

_\---_

Natasha and Sam are almost at the safehouse Steve's been staying at when her phone buzzes with a message from Maria.

_You're too good to me. Thank you for everything._

_Not possible, but you're welcome._

_Have a good trip. Be safe._

_Always. See you soon._


	6. The Time Natasha Realizes They've Been Dating All Along

It's been almost two weeks since Natasha has seen Maria. (A week and a half, really, but who's counting?) Paris was a bust on the Bucky front, but Steve at least ended up with a new trail that picked up when that dropped off. Her presence on the trip hadn't even been entirely necessary, and she had spent most of her time just exploring the city, hoping to catch sight of Bucky in one of the areas he had supposedly been spotted in the previous week. By the time she had returned, Maria was on her way to Los Angeles for a week of training her direct reports on the west coast, their respective arrival and departure missing each other by mere hours.

They had texted on and off during that time, a strange occurrence for Natasha. Outside of the occasional messages with Clint and Laura, she has never been much of a texter - likely chalked up to her usual aversion to small talk - but that seemingly doesn't apply when it comes to Maria. While she was in Paris, she found herself texting Maria when she was bored, wanted to complain about Steve and Sam, or to tease her with the food, drinks, and sights she was missing out on. Maria did the same, sending Natasha pictures of Liho when she would stop by to check on her or recounting something May had told her about what Coulson's team was up to. From LA, Maria had sent pictures from the beach and regaled her with stories of the west coast employees of Stark Industries.

Despite all the exchanged texts, they haven't actually spoken on the phone at all, which is why Maria's name flashing across her screen as an incoming call throws her for a loop. She immediately swipes to answer the call, running through all the reason Maria wouldn't just text.

"Maria?"

"Hey, Nat."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, I would have texted but my hands are full and my headset was already in. Anyway, I'm currently walking down the jetbridge to get on my flight back to New York."

"I thought you were coming back tomorrow?"

"Bumped my flight up." There's a rustling, the sound of fabric scratching against the microphone, and then a muffled, "Sorry, excuse me."

Natasha waits,

"Okay, sorry. No more interruptions. As I was saying, I'm on my way back to New York. My flight leaves in 30 minutes, which means you have approximately 8 hours to free your schedule for the rest of the night and find us a dive bar with a pool table and a halfway decent beer selection."

Natasha laughs, low and throaty, but she's already reached for her tablet to do some research. "Is that an order, Commander?"

"Not taking no for an answer, Romanoff."

"I'll text you an address."

"Good," Maria says, but her voice sounds softer, more relaxed, than it had just seconds ago. "I'll see you tonight."

"Have a safe flight."

\---

Natasha keeps her word, which is why she's heading into a nondescript single story brick building in Brooklyn at a quarter til nine. The indistinct drone of a too loud jukebox and the chatter of the patrons filters through the door and windows, and when she opens the door, the sound spills out to the otherwise quiet street and making the bar appear more crowded than it actually was.

She does a once over from just inside the door to assure it meets Maria's criteria and she doesn't have to find another place last minute. Their on tap selection is kind of limited, but a chalkboard wall behind the bar lists at least 30 beers, a good half of which of the craft variety Natasha has never heard of. There are two pool tables, both currently empty, and a dart board in a partially sectioned off room to the right side of the main bar area and several people seated at the bar itself, at least a third of which had to be regulars.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket and she pulls it out to see a message from Maria, so she steps back outside to wait for her.

_Just got off at my stop._

_I'm here. I'll wait for you outside._

_Two blocks away._

Natasha slides her phone back into her pocket and turns toward the direction of the subway, walking a few yards down the sidewalk to wait at the corner for Maria's arrival. She spots her just as she crosses the street to the block Natasha is on. The smile comes to her face unbidden, and she ignores the urge to meet Maria halfway.

By the time Maria reaches her, she's beaming. She wraps Natasha in a hug that lasts longer than may be entirely necessary, but Natasha isn't complaining. "God it is so good to see a familiar face."

"Long week?"

"The longest. I think I'd rather face Congress again."

"Ouch. That bad?"

"I am 100% certain Stark hired most of the people there based solely on looks and has never seen a CV for any of them."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Natasha says, laughing. "The good news is, you're here now, and while I can't promise you an intellectually stimulating conversation right now, I _can_ promise you a few rounds of pool, and that drinks are on me tonight."

She leads them to the bar, holding the door open and waiting for her to enter.

"I feel so spoiled."

"Apparently you need it."

They take seats at the bar, in direct view of the chalkboard menu, and Maria takes a moment to survey her surroundings.

"You did good with this one."

"Well, you did have a very specific criteria. Narrowed down the options quite a bit."

\---

"You. Are. A. Pool shark!" Natasha points at Maria accusingly as she sinks the 8 ball. _Again._

Maria laughs. "Am not," she says, grabbing the triangle to rerack.

"You're four beers in and _still_ ran the table _THREE TIMES_. In a row!" Natasha's tone is accusatory but playful, and she crosses her arms over her chest, pouting. "I've shot exactly _twice_ in _four rounds_."

Maria laughs again and holds out the cue to Natasha. "C'mon, I'll let you break this time. Give you a fair chance."

Natasha huffs, glaring at Maria as she takes the cue. " _Fair chance_ , my ass. I broke the first round, too."

"Have we finally found something I am better than you at?"

Natasha doesn't respond, just narrows her eyes and lines up her shot. She focuses harder than is probably necessary, mostly trying to ignore Maria, who is in her peripheral vision, leaning against their table and sipping her beer. The focus somehow works and when the balls scatter on the break, she sinks the 9 ball.

She cheers internally but keeps her focus on the table, sinking the 10 and 13 before missing sinking the 14 by a few millimeters, sending it bouncing off the rail instead of in the pocket. She's comforted by the fact that the cue ball comes to a stop amid mostly stripes, hindering a good shot for Maria. (Not that it's likely to affect her game in anyway.)

"Congrats," Maria says, smirking at Natasha. "You finally made one."

'Oh, it's on,' Natasha thinks, hiding her own smirk.

"Do you moonlight as a pool hustler?" Natasha asks.

Maria just laughs and reaches for the cue, but Natasha pulls it just out of her grasp. Her momentum propels her forward, though, and she stops just short of actually pressing Natasha against the edge of the table. Natasha doesn't stop her eyes from flicking down and taking stock of the few inches between them, then looking right back up at Maria through her eyelashes, smiling in that way she knows can disarm _anyone_.

"Do you find a dive bar on the weekends and use those pretty blue eyes to trick all the boys into 'teaching' you how to play only to turn around and hustle them out of all their cash?"

"I. Um," Maria stumbles over her words, and Natasha tilts her head inquisitively, not taking her eyes off Maria. She itches to slide up on the edge of the table, to hook her ankles behind Maria's knees and tug her forward, to lean in and press her mouth into Maria's. Instead, she leans back and tilts the cue toward Maria, purposely brushing their fingers as she hands it off and pushes away from the table.

\---

It's nearly 3 am when they make it back to Maria's apartment. Natasha had only managed to win one game of pool over the course of the evening, but had made up for it by beating Maria in several rounds of darts. It had been a fun evening, but Natasha's pretty sure she'd have fun watching paint dry with Maria.

"Nat?" Maria asks, drawing Natasha from her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Are you coming up?"

Natasha looks up to see Maria staring at her expectantly, front door open.

"Oh! I," Natasha pauses, weighing her options. The time away from Maria has made her miss her, but their interactions were decidedly more flirtatious all night, and Natasha's not sure she's in the right kind of headspace to end up in Maria's bed tonight in a platonic manner. "I'm actually gonna head back to the Tower."

"It's 3 am, Nat."

"What? Am I gonna get in trouble with JARVIS for coming home late?"

Maria laughs. "No, but it's late," she says, reaching for Natasha's hand. "You make me stay at yours when it's too late."

Natasha sighs. This is a bad idea and she knows it, but she also knows she won't win an argument with Maria right now, so she gives in. With a shrug, she walks up the few steps and past Maria into the lobby, not bothering with reaching for her outstretched hand.

\---

They're sitting on Maria's couch, Natasha leaning against one arm of the couch, legs draped over Maria's own. There's some ridiculous reality show that Natasha doesn't know playing on the TV. Maybe she'd recognize it if she actually paid attention, but right now all she can focus on is the absentminded shapes Maria's thumb is tracing over the exposed skin of her ankle.

"You really think my eyes are pretty?" Maria asks out of nowhere, turning to look at Natasha.

"Huh?"

"Earlier tonight, you said..."

Natasha smiles as it clicks, leaning forward to gaze into said eyes. "No." Her answer immediately causes Maria to frown and Natasha reaches out, brushing her fingers over the frown lines forming on her forehead. She drops her hand, cupping Maria's cheek and brushing her thumb across her cheekbone. "I think they're stunning," she says, voice barely above a whisper.

Later, she'll blame it on a momentary - and rare - lapse in judgement, but for now she leans in and presses her mouth to Maria's. It's light, a chaste kiss she pulls away from after just a moment, lips tingling as she starts to apologize.

"Maria, I-"

"Finally." Maria's words are barely a breath between them, and before Natasha can question her, Maria's hand is on the back of her neck, fingers sliding into her hair as she tugs her forward and into another kiss.

Natasha is too stunned to move for a moment, but her brain finally clicks into gear and she kisses Maria back, eagerly this time. Their lips slant against each other as if they've done this a million times - lips and teeth and tongues pressing and sliding, biting and exploring. Natasha barely registers Maria's hands on her hips, tugging her forward so she's straddling Maria, bodies pressing together urgently.

She buries her hands in Maria's hair, tugging and clenching, nails scratching at the nape of her neck and causing Maria to gasp into her mouth. Maria's thumbs dig in at her hips, pressing Natasha against her more forcefully, hips twitching up as Natasha rolls her own. It's desperate and needy, weeks of Natasha's built up frustration pouring out in this moment, clouding her thoughts and making her ignore all the alarm bells going off in her head.

"What did you mean by finally?" Natasha asks when they pull apart, breathless and flushed. She rests her forehead against Maria's cupping her cheek and dragging her thumb over her kiss swollen lips. Before Maria can respond, she tilts her chin down and kisses her again.

"I was just starting to wonder if I had just misread the entire situation," Maria mutters against her mouth, in between kisses

Natasha pulls back completely, draping her arms over Maria's shoulders as she looks at her curiously. "Huh?"

"I mean, first date, fine, but after the third, I got a little concerned-"

Natasha's look shifts to one of utter confusion. "They weren't dates!"

"Nat," Maria says, laughing. "Natasha. What exactly did you think I was asking when I asked you to have a drink with me?"

"Friends have drinks!"

"You _flirted_ with me half the night!"

Natasha thinks back to that night, remembering the flirting. "Natalie did?" It's supposed to be a statement, but it comes out as more of a question.

"On our second date, you walked me home."

"I was being nice?"

"Natasha," Maria says, but her serious tone is belied by the tears of laughter in her eyes. "You kissed me on my cheek when you left. And when you got home, you sent me a picture of yourself _in a bubble bath._ "

Natasha doesn't have words for that. "I was definitely maybe being flirtatious that night."

"On our third date, you brought me to an apartment no one else even knows exists, and I made dinner for you. And we sat on the roof drinking wine and watching the sunset and you invited me to go to Barton's farm with you."

"I almost kissed you that night," Natasha admits.

"I know."

"I should have. I laid in bed all night thinking about that look on your face when you left, but I'd convinced myself that it wasn't disappointment. That I was seeing things."

"You weren't. I'd almost kissed you several times that night, but I stopped myself because I wasn't going to push anything. But when I left that night? I spent the ride home and half the night angry - at myself, not you - because I was _certain_ I was reading things wrong, that you didn't think we were dating at all. I was mad I hadn't made my intentions more clear from the beginning. But then imagine my surprise when I showed up at my office the next morning and you'd brought me coffee and asked me out again with a post it note."

Natasha buries her head against Maria's shoulder. "That was so lame."

"It wasn't."

"Clint has been teasing me non-stop about us dating, but I was insisting we weren't. I didn't even know you're into women!"

Maria's laughter bubbles up from her throat, escaping in a loud, thoroughly amused cackle. "Natasha, you're a _spy_!"

Natasha huffs. "There's just the whole stereotype, y'know? I didn't want to make assumptions."

"I appreciate that," Maria says, voice suddenly serious. She reaches up, running her hands up and down Natasha's biceps. "To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure about you, either."

"What gave it away?" Natasha asks.

"Nothing," Maria says, honestly. "I mean, as much as we have talked over the years, we've never really discussed that, and anything I could have possibly gotten a hint from could have all been marked up to being a cover."

Natasha _hmmm_ s, thinking of a handful of situations she'd been in at S.H.I.E.L.D. where she would have been in... compromising situations with other women.

"So why'd you ask me then?"

"I guess I just got tired of wanting to kiss you senseless every damn time I saw you and not being able to," Maria says with a smile. She leans in and presses a quick kiss to the corner of Natasha's mouth to make a point. "Seriously though, I was having a kind of shit day that day, but the instant I saw you, it made me smile. I hadn't seen you in months, but I wanted to see you for more than that split second. I figured I'd ask you out, and if you said no, then I could finally set my mind on moving on."

Natasha smiles and shakes her head. "I'm glad I said yes."

Maria kisses her again. "Me too. I do have a question, though."

"Yeah?"

"Our last date?"

"What about it?"

"Why did-" Maria pauses, then tries again. "If you didn't think it was a date, why..."

"Just because I didn't know it was a date, doesn't mean I didn't _want_ it to be a date," Natasha says with a low chuckle. "Pepper thought it was a date."

"What?"

"When I went to drop off those papers for you, I mentioned we were having dinner," Natasha says, leaning down to press her lips along the length of Maria's jaw as she speaks. "When I left, she said 'have fun on your date.' Then when we had lunch, she was asking me about you." Natasha nips at Maria's ear, causing her to gasp. "About us."

"What'd you say?" Maria asks, turning her head to capture Natasha's lips with her own.

"To ask you," Natasha says between kisses.

"That date would have totally gotten you laid," Maria teases, dragging her fingers along Natasha's stomach, just barely skimming under the edge of Natasha's jeans. "I can't believe you wasted the perfect date when you thought we were just having dinner as friends."

Natasha shifts her hips toward Maria's touch, itching for more contact. "I'm sure we can make up for it."

"Yeah?" Maria asks, fingers of one hand fiddling with the button at the top of Natasha's jeans.

Natasha nods and sucks in a breath as Maria's other hand makes its way to her zipper, parting it excruciatingly slow. "Yeah."

"Hey Nat?" Maria asks, voice casual even as she runs her short nails across the waist of Natasha's underwear. "Just to be clear… tonight was totally a date."

Natasha huffs in frustration, but then laughs. "Noted," she says, and then stands up holding her hands out to Maria. "Bed?"

Maria doesn't answer, just slips her hands into Natasha's and leads her to bed.


End file.
